Terrazzo strip



Nov. 13, 1951l H. L PINK l 2,574,553

TERRAZZO STRIP Filed April 24, 1948 Il 4MINI l l Y 'www INVENTOR Patented Nov. 13, 1951 TERRAZZO STRIP Harry L. Fink, New Rochelle, N. Y., assignor to Manhattan Terrazzo Brass Strip Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 24, 1948, Serial N0. 23,010

1 claim. l

This invention relates to terrazzo strips, and more particularly to terrazzo strips of the heavy top type.

In laying a terrazzo floor, a screed coat of cement mortar is placed on the foundation and leveled off. Terrazzo strip is then inserted into the screed for the primary purpose of subdividing the floor into relatively small units, small units being less likely to crack than is a whole oor made in one piece. Ordinarily the bottom half of a terrazzo strip is provided with anchoring projections which extend laterally from the plane of the strip. When the strip is inserted into the screed coat these anchoring projections become embedded in the screed which, upon hardening, retains the strip in place.

The strip, which is inserted edgewise into the screed, is depressed for about half of its height into the screed, leaving the top strip with its upper half (approximately) projecting above the screed. The strip is, of course, disposed in a vertical plane with its longitudinal edges in a horizontal position.y After the screed has set suiiiciently (e. g., overnight) but not hardened enough to prevent the terrazzo coat from bonding thereto, the terrazzo is poured on top of the screed and rolled down, being brought to the level of the upper edge of the terrazzo strip. After the terrazzo has hardened suiiciently, it is ground smooth, producing the familiar terrazzo floor with the-upper edge of the terrazzo strip exposed therein.

In placing the strip in thescreed it is laid out in such fashion as to divide the floor into panels or to produce other eye-pleasing designs in the finished floor. Many people prefer that the upper edge of the strip produce a wide line of demarcation in the floor surface, and for this purpose heavy top strip is used.

In one form of heavy top strip which has been proposed, the heavy top member is a rectangular bar disposed on edge, the bottom edge of the bar'being channeled and telescoped over the upper edge of a thin strip which'forms the bottom member of the composite heavy top strip. This type of strip presents manufacturing difficulties, in that any waviness in either the upper or lower sections interferes with the telescoping of the top section onto the bottom section, thereby slowing production. This difficulty is obviated by employing a side-rabbeted top section and nesting the upper portion of the bottom member into the rabbet as in my United States Patents 1,791,267 and 1,914,115.

Heavy top strip of the type shown in my said patents is satisfactory to manufacture, and it has been used extensively for quite a number of years. However, there is one respect in which care is required for its satisfactory installation. For use in laying out the oor design. lengths of strip are cut as required from stock lengths `of strip. The heavy top member being secured to the bottom member of the strip at intervals of several inches, a certain number of the cut lengths will terminate in a zone having a length up to several inches, in which the heavy top member is unsecured to the base or bottom member of the strip. With the strip set in the screed, a blow against the side of this terminal zone of the heavy top member, if delivered from the rabbeted side thereof, will readily bend the heavy top end out of alignment, particularly if the heavy top member be made of zinc or other soft material. Such blows are likely to come from a Workmans heel catching on the heavy top member, and they are also likely to come from tools used in spreading the terrazzo layer. With the strip set in the screed, which is not even fully hardened when the terrazzo is poured, the proper straightening of a bent heavy top end presents a rather diicult problem from a practical standpoint.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a side-rabbeted heavy top terrazzo strip which obviates the foregoing difficulties.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a heavy top terrazzo strip, and a heavy top member for such a strip, having the advantages of the side-rabbeted construction heretofore used but not having the disadvantage which has been pointed out above.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide a side-rabbeted heavy top terrazzo strip, and a side-rabbeted heavy top member therefor, in which the top and bottom members are secured at intervals and the unsecured zones of the heavy top member are retained against lateral displacement relative to the bottomv section of the strip.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a heavy top terrazzo strip, and heavy top member therefor, which accomplishes the foregoing objects and in which the strip lends itself to facile and inexpensive manufacture on a production basis.

Still further objects and objects relating to details and economies of construction, assembly and use, Will more definitely appear from the detailed description to follow.

My invention is clearly defined in the appended claims. In the claims, as Well as in the description, parts may at times be identified by specific names for clarity and convenience, but; such nomenclature is to be understood as having the broadest meaning consistent with the context and with the concept of my invention as distinguished from the pertinent prior art. The best form in which I have contemplated applying my invention is illustrated in the accompanying 3 drawings forming part of this specication, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of a fragmentary length of terrazzo strip embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the strip shown in Fig. 1.

Fig, 3 is an end elevation of the heavy top member per se, which is incorporated in the strip shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a smaller scale side elevation of the terrazzo strip, partially in section, showing the two sections of the strip secured together by spot welding.

The composite heavy top strip 5 embodies a heavy top bar` or member 6 which is mounted on and issecured to a base or bottom member 7. At intervals along its length the bottom member is provided with suitable laterally-projecting anchors for the purpose already explained. These anchors, of which one is shown, may each consist of an arcuate strap 8 pressed out from the material of the bottom section 7, the strap being preferably given a slightly conical form arranged big-end-down, as best seen in Fig. 2. Between straps 8 groups of holes 9 (three shown in each group) may be punched. When the strip is set in the screed, as previously explained, some of the screed will enter these holes. Thus, the holes provide anchorage in addition to that provided by straps 8. Also, the slugs punched from holes 9 provide that much scrap which can be sold as an olset against the manufacturers cost of the strip.

The top bar 6, which is o uniform cross section throughout its length, has a side rabbet i!) (Fig. 3) and a short depending lip II which is laterally spacedl from the vertical wall i2 of the rabbet I. The inside face I4 of the lip II eX- tends inwardly and upwardly from the free edge of the lip, as is best seen in Fig 3. The clearance between the top of the inside face I4 and' thevertical face I2 of the rabbet is substantially equal to the thickness of the bottom strip 7, providing for proper and convenient nesting of the bottom and top sections of the strip.

In assembly, the top section 6 and the bottom section 7 are brought into the nested relation seen in Figs. 1 and 2. This may be done in any suitable manner, e. g., the top section 6 may be laid in a horizontal position rabbet-side-up, and then the bottom section I may be nested within the rabbet by being placed against the rabbet face I2. Then the bottom section may be moved edgewise to bring it inside of lip II. With this procedure any reasonable degreeV of waviness in the bottom section is kovercome by that section being pressed lat'against the rabbet face I2, the weight of section 'I itself facilitating the oper-V ation. Also, the lsloping inner face I4 of lip II provides a funnel entrance for the edge ofthe bottom section 1 into position behind the lip.

With the upper and lower sections of the strip in assembled relation, theV two sections are secured together in any suitable manner as by rivets or spot welding. Tubular rivets or eyelets IG, which are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are suitable, and I prefer to place them about three inches apart throughout thev length of the strip. The holes for therivets may be drilled or punched in any suitable manner, .and the rivets may be inserted and set in any suitable manner. The strip shown in Fig. 4 is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that spot welding I1 is substituted for the rivets I S. The spot welds are also several inches apart, and they constitute fastening means securing the upper zone of the base strip 'I to the vertical wall of the rabbet of the top bar 6.

Any suitable materials may be used for the top bar 6 and the bottom strip 1. For most purposes I at present prefer to use a bottom strip I of zinc and to mount on it a top bar 6 made of either zinc or brass. Bottom strips 'I of brass or galvanized iron may also be used. For some iloor effects, top bars of non-metallic material are desirable. One such material that I have found particularly desirable is a cellulose acetate butyrate plastic sold under the trade name of Tenite 2.

It will be apparent that when a lengthY of strip is so cut off from a stock length that there is no rivet adjacent the end of the cut length, the topY bar 5 will have a terminal zone I8 (Fig. l) which is not secured to the bottom section 7. Force fortuitously exerted against this zone in the direction of arrow I9 (Fig. 2), as by a workmans heel catching on the top bar in zone I8. will be resisted by the lip II which depends on the outside of the bottom section 7. Thus, this lip serves to retain unsecured portions of the top section against lateral displacement from nested relationship with the bottom section.

I claim:

A terrazzo strip, comprising a top bar of substantially uniform cross section throughout its length, said bar being formed of a strip of generally rectangular cross section having a side rabbet extending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof and an integraldepending lip extending downwardly from the top surface of the rabbet in spaced overlapping relation to the vertical face of the rabbet, the face of the lipconfrontingthev vertical face of the rabbet being upwardly converging towards said face, and a bottom section formed ofa somewhat thinner strip than the top bar, the upper portionrof said bottom section being received within the rabbet in the top bar with one side of the bottom section positioned against the vertical face of the rabbet and the top edge portion nested between said vertical face and said depending lip and abutting the top surface of the rabbet, the bottom section being secured against the vertical face of the rabbet at spaced intervals by fastening means located below the lower edge of the lip.

HARRY L. FINK,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Y Date 1,607,690 Rue NoV.r23, 1926 1,741,829 Cucolo 1 Dec. 3l, 1929 1,744,539 Galassi Y Jan. 21, 1930 1,770,359 Fischer July 8, 1930 1,791,267 Fink Feb. 3, 1931 2,120,725 Zanin June` 14, 1938 2,139,465 Robertson 1--- Dec. 6, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 139,456 Switzerland Apr. 30, 1930 

